Foreign ministers from seven European countries published a joint article in the American newspaper The New York Times titled «Lessons from the Second World War to Avoid a Third World War». The publication was initiated by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who was joined by colleagues from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, and the Czech Republic. They express their stance on the necessity of avoiding the repetition of historical tragedies and emphasize the value of the multinational victory over Nazism in the Second World War.
This is reported by Kyiv24
In their article, the ministers stress that «Russia has no right to monopolize the victory over Nazism, which was achieved by many nations». They highlight that «even the Red Army was multinational, with at least six million Ukrainians fighting in its ranks». At the same time, representatives of these countries urge that Russia should not be allowed to use this historical victory to justify its current aggression and atrocities against the Ukrainian people.
Criticism of Putin’s Regime and Calls for International Solidarity
The authors of the article condemn the grotesque cult of victory created by Putin’s regime, pointing out that «instead of honoring the memory of the victims of the Second World War, it has turned this date into a propaganda tool». The spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Heorhii Tykhyi, noted that «this is a Ukrainian initiative, joined by foreign colleagues». He added that the process of coordinating editorial amendments was challenging due to the sensitivity of historical topics, but they managed to create a unified narrative and present contemporary political conclusions for the world.
At the same time, Moscow is preparing for a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazism, where Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak. Leaders from several countries will attend the event, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and others. The only representative from the EU at the parade will be Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia have announced that they will close their airspace to foreign leaders’ planes intending to fly to Moscow. The European Union is opposed to participation in celebratory events in Russia due to its war against Ukraine.